For those of you with food savers

seasydeMay 26, 2006

Do you reuse the bags? If so, is there an easy way of getting them clean & dry? I love the food saver, but am finding that if I freeze anything greasy (like stew for example) the bag is a major pain to get clean. If there is any trace of residue left the bag won't seal properly. Any hints?

Great Idea "marie26"! Grease and plastic bags cling together, and it is just about impossible to get the grease completely cleaned off. When my FoodSaver bags got too messy from the content I threw them out....expensive (yeah, I know!!) but just couldn't deal with the mess of trying to get the bag clean. Am going to try Marie's method...sounds good!

I use the ball jars and jar sealing attachment when I freeze stews and chili's. They are much cheaper than the plastic bags. I also have been buying bulk things like cashews and putting them in small sized jars and it works great!!! I can even put the jars in my musty basement and when I want some fresh sugar or non-frozen item they are really fresh. I have some "personal" sized snack jars that are very small and I use them for alot of things.

I use the bags for meats, then I throw them out because the meats are raw and I just dont' think I could clean them well enough to reuse. When I use the bags for cooked items or veggies, I will wash and re-use them untill they get too short to use.

I have a dumb question...I just got the newest version of the FoodSaver (my older one died awhile ago). When you are sealing the bags, which side should be up (smooth or rough), or does it matter? It's been so long since I used my old FoodSaver, I cannot remember and I am unable to find any reference to it in the booklet. Thanks in advance!!

I am really sorry, and surprised, that no on answered your question. I have not been here for a while or I would have answered sooner. I have used my Foodsaver for years and never gave a thought to which side of the bag was up. It appears both sides will seal equally well. You probably figured that out by now. Love my Foodsaver!

I use my Saver for meat mostly, so I just throw them.
BUT, today I tried Marie's tip with strawberries & it seemed to work great. I froze the berries whole on cookie sheets 1st, then put them in daily bags (sandwhich) put about 4 of those in a big Saver, sucked air out for about 3/4 & then sealed, they look great & I'm hoping to open,
pull 2 bags out & re seal with the saver. These are whole, no sugar, so they can be hard to freeze. I like to just eat a few a day frozen in the winter, certainly can't do it with CA BERRIES(ugh) but I think it will work with our beautiful "Hood" berries here in OR. Jill

I have the food saver and a little tip I use when doing things that have liquid. fold a paper towel and put it at the top of the bag,not on the food. Near to where you are sealing. The paper towel will collect the liquid that is being sucked up and can hamper sealing. Then after defrosting just throw it out.

I tried the paper towel trick when freezing corn last year at this time. It didn't work. So, I was going to try freezing the corn first this year until I read about the "ziplock bag first" idea. Good idea.
Leslie

Hi all,
I don't ever post to this area of the site but I have a question.
I have just gotten a 18 year old never been used foodsaver from my elderly mom. She is a smoker and so the bags she gave me reek. Can I use the new bags with this machine.. Model number FS No 210097

Hello everybody,
I don't usually join forums, but I ran into this one while looking for some food saver tips, so I joined in order to be able to share some ideas about freezing and vac packing foods that may make a huge difference to many of you out there. With a number of years of food saver use under my belt, I have have found that while it will never really be easy work, there are ways to make it a less labor-intensive, less messy, and more organized chore. Those lovely plastic takeout containers such as the ones you get with Chinese food are perfect for freezing food, and they are top rack dishwasher safe. Fill containers, cover and place in the freezer (make sure they are level so the shapes are uniform). When the food is frozen solid, remove from container and wrap is plastic food wrap, then vacuum pack. If you have several containers, do this assembly line style; 1) unmold 2) wrap in plastic film 3) determine size of bag to seal and make all the bags 4) vac pack and label. If you shop at a club type mega store, purchase the 3000 square foot roll of plastic film and you will have film for months to come. The film will keep the food saver bag clean to re-use. The containers will make uniform rectangles or rounds which saves space in the freezer and keep it organized. Also, if you set up everything before packing, after a while it will become second nature to you and you'll be doing it without even thinking.
And just one more thing (yeah, you thought I was finished, didn't you?), after you wrap the frozen bricks (that's what I call them), put them back in the freezer while you make your bags so they don't get runny if the room temperature is warm. Hope I helped one or many of my fellow food prepaholics out there.

Hello!
I bought my food sealer and 2 packs of 30 bags. Those bags were expensive. I was browsing at my local pound shop and found packs of press and seal freezer bags. 100 bags, 2 packs for a pound. So I thought I would give these a go. They worked better then the bags I bought with the sealer! All the air was pulled out, the bags sealed better then the bags that came with the sealer. So I now just use the cheap freezer bags and at 200 for a pound there's no need to wash them. Try using press and seal or zip lock freezer bags and see how they go for you. I am all about saving pennies.